Jeff Cooke Photography » bridal

Ready, Aim, Fire!

Jeff Cooke — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 19:20:17 +0000

Although Meaghan and Rick were married down south earlier this year, they were looking for an engagement and creative bridal shoot closer to home. So they contacted Liam Hennessey of Applehead Studio and myself, and we came up with a plan to collaborate on both shoots. It was a lot of fun watching Meaghan and Rick push each other off cliffs after shooting each other with (paintball) guns …

A Splash of Color

Jeff Cooke — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 05:13:41 +0000

A little fun with a bride and a colorful backdrop … Thanks to Shelly for going airborne in a wedding dress, Vicky Mina for makeup, hair styling by Cara MacInnis, Felicity Bridal for the stunning wedding dress, and of course the incredible piece of artwork that added a splash of color to an otherwise ordinary white wall.

A Maritime Bridal

Jeff Cooke — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 18:14:16 +0000

Ever wonder what to do with that wedding dress? Well, here’s an option – have a fun and sexy rock the dress / trash the dress bridal session. Recently married, Ceilidh was excited for a few “untraditional” bridal portraits in a very Maritime setting … which in this case happened to be near her family home in Chester, Nova Scotia. The misty, overcast day gave us a very cool atmosphere, and with her mom and best friend cheering her on, Ceilidh totally rocked it. Thanks for the fun afternoon (and the delicious blueberry cheesecake cupcake)!

And here’s a favourite taken of Ceilidh at her wedding reception a few weeks earlier … love the tattoo.

Let’s Hear It For The Girls

Jeff Cooke — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:02:15 +0000

Let’s face it ladies, you deserve to be treated like a celebrity on your wedding day. Your hair, make-up and nails are perfectly done and, to top it all off, you are surrounded by friends and family in those moments leading up to your wedding. I really enjoy starting the day off with the bride and her favorite gals to break the ice and have some fun in those hours leading up to the wedding as there are lots of fun, impromptu moments. You and the girls will have a blast being treated like models for a day and we’ll have some fun creating your own personal version of the “Americas Next Top Model” pose (don’t be surprised if you hear me use the word “smize”!). I’m sure most will agree that these recent photos from Kim & Dan’s wedding make the old, cliche “dress shot” and “getting ready” pictures a lot more interesting (a big thanks to Kim for letting me share her images):

In all seriousness though, my shots leading up to the wedding don’t necessarily mean bridal boudoir, or just “the dress”, or “the shoes”, but are meant to be pictures with your unique spin on things to help tell the entire story of your wedding day.

THE Dress

Jeff Cooke — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:26:10 +0000

I wanted to share a few photos of Brett who just tied the knot this past week-end. You always hear brides talking about finding the perfect dress – THE dress, and Brett definitely found hers – an incredible dress by Demetrios – at Felicity Bridal. I stopped by in the weeks leading up to her big day to snap a few shots as Christa, Mickey and the rest of the staff were helping with her fitting.

I’ve had a couple of chances to work with Brett and Andrew in the months leading up to their wedding, including a chilly engagement session earlier this winter. This helped me to get a feel for the couple’s personalities and style before their big day which made for a fun, friendly dynamic with the couple when it finally came time to say their “I DOs”.

There will definitely be more to come on Brett & Andrews nuptials – the wonderfully talented Avril Mulholland of Update Events transformed the St. Mary’s Boat Club into Halifax’s hottest spot for the night and the music of the Mellowtones definitely kept the party alive. More to come …

Felicity Bridal is located at 5150 Salter Street, in downtown Halifax.
(902) 420-8888

Trash the Dress PEI Part 4 – Charlottetown

Jeff Cooke — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:57:47 +0000

When we first started planning our trip, I couldn’t believe so many of the Island’s amazing artists offered to help us pull things together, and I was thrilled at the opportunity to feature a few of these talented local artists. On top of trooping through the weather and helping us with such a long day, we were treated to a scrumptious home-cooked corn chowder, live music from some of P.E.I.’s finest and just all-around great company. P.E.I. sure knows how to make you feel welcome – thanks guys! After leaving Summerside for our next round of shoots in Charlottetown, we ended up in a location almost all the way back in Summerside (logistics can be challenging). Down one photographer, snow falling, freezing temperatures and daylight behind us, Liam and I quickly improvised and ended up shooting our easy-going brides inside the loft of a very cool, very old barn …

It was fun to once again collaborate with Liam of Applehead Studio, and although Heather was missed, I loved that two wedding photographers can come together under tough conditions to create something great … with a little help from our friends. More to come.

Makeup: Savannah Belsher-MacLean
Wedding Dresses: Felicity Bridal
Custom Jewelery: Gail Hodder
Hair Pieces / Millinery: Love Charlie
Hair: Amila Topic
And of course our brides: Aleshia, Leslie & Ghislaine

Trash the Dress PEI Part 3 – Katharina

Jeff Cooke — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 12:28:45 +0000

Meet Katharina. She’s the owner of Katharina’s Bridal Boutique in Summerside, PEI, so obviously she’s an expert on how to rock a wedding dress. Katharnia opened her boutique to ensure brides have a joyful and memorable experience while searching for that perfect dress, so her shop was the perfect setting for her to rock the dress. It was an absolute pleasure working with Katharina and her wonderful best friends (along with Liam and Heather) – thanks for hosting us crazy wedding photographers, allowing us to rearrange all of the furniture your shop … and burning a wedding dress. More to come!

Rock the Stable, Burn A Dress: Trash the Dress PEI Part One

Jeff Cooke — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 22:56:21 +0000

Meet Julia … it’s always nice when a bride isn’t worried about getting a little bit of PEI’s red dirt and barn on their dress. Julia grew up riding horses and wanted the feel of her shoot to be like a bride at the derby, so this was the perfect setting for her to “trash the dress/rock the dress”.

For the record, a ‘trash the dress/rock the dress’ photo shoot isn’t so much about trashing the dress as much as it is about creating artistic, fashion-inspired images of a bride in her gown, venturing into places where a bride may not normally feel comfortable or have the chance to visit on her wedding day, at least not without a box of Tide. Photographer Kyle Perison said it perfectly – “It’s never been about destruction – It’s always been about creation”.

Partnering with Liam Hennessy of Applehead Studio and Heather Crosby-Gionet of This is Photography, we collaborated with many of the Island’s amazing artists, musicians and business owners – all of whom went above and beyond to not only make us feel at home, but help us bring our crazy little idea to life. A big thanks to everyone!

It seems that our photo shoot caused a little bit of a stir when a local PEI newspaper published an article talking about a bunch of Halifax wedding photographers trashing wedding dresses for art. We’ll let our images speak for themselves! More to come …

A big big thanks to Bay Breeze Stables in Summerside for letting us use their amazing facility (and Chico for being a charming model), and the wonderful “dream team” at Katharina’s Bridal Boutique. Hair was by Paige Ricketts (Whispers Hair Design), and make-up was by Michelle Cudmore

Kim Rocks The Dress

Jeff Cooke — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 07:53:44 +0000

Meet Kim again – this time sans Dan and totally rocking the dress in a trash the dress kinda setting.

This Trash the Dress / Rock the Dress session was a lot of fun because Kim was totally open to any possible shot I wanted to create … and I also had the opportunity to collaborate with Heather Crosby-Gionet of This is Photography. Heather is full of amazing ideas and is a wonderful wedding and boudoir photographer. I’m really looking forward to working with her again … next time with Liam Hennesey of Applehead Studio for our Trash the Dress / Rock the Dress PEI project (stay tuned for more). And of course, a big thanks to Kim for making it very easy for us … she is incredibly beautiful and was up for anything, which is perfect for this type of photography. Check out the images yourselves!

Creative Bridal

Jeff Cooke — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 16:18:07 +0000

Trash the dress isn’t about trashing the dress as much as it is about creating artistic, fashion-inspired images of a bride in her gown. These sessions are usually done after the ceremony as an alternative to keeping and storing your dress that will most likely never be worn again. But if you want to torch your dress or jump into a lake or the ocean, I’m all for it! These sessions are typically designed to put “really pretty people in very ugly places” … think fashion photography. But if you’re not totally up for trashing your dress, you should definitely rock your dress. And you can rock your dress either before or after the wedding! Rocking the dress means having a fashion inspired concept, venturing into places where you might not normally feel comfortable or have the chance to visit on your wedding day, but still keeping it pretty clean and completely undamaged. Besides, you can get your dress cleaned! I like to add a little rock and roll to my shoots, creating gritty, romantic and uniquely sexy photos that are all about creativity, imagination and of course the bride … grooms optional.

Destination Bridal

Jeff Cooke — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:00:27 +0000

Next weekend I’ll travel from Halifax to North Carolina to photograph DeAnna and Brad’s wedding and I’m really looking forward to sharing some of my favorites … but in the meantime I wanted to post a few shots that I’ve been sitting on for the past couple of months. I met with DeAnna earlier in the year for a “Rock the Dress” bridal session, but for obvious reasons didn’t want to share any of the photos until after their wedding.

Paint it Black

Jeff Cooke — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:57:37 +0000

While visiting Charleston, South Carolina, I met up with Connie for crazy fun bridal session … and this wasn’t your typical session as she literally wanted to trash her wedding dress. She ended up doing a pretty good job of it – complete with a fresh coat of black paint. There sure was lot of energy, passion and emotion throughout the afternoon, and Connie totally rocked it. I loved everything about this shoot.

Meet Shelby – Creative Bridal

Jeff Cooke — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 18:47:53 +0000

When Shelby asked me about doing a bridal / trash the dress session – I jumped at the opportunity. I knew this would be a fun shoot, but when we came across a knight in shining armor – it set the stage for a phenomenal afternoon. She is an absolute knockout and looked stunning in her bridal gown … and she totally rocked it!

The Old Barn- Creative Bridal

Jeff Cooke — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:30:38 +0000

Mike and Jenn (and Shelby) rocked their photos – I loved everything they went for. I especially loved the location which happened to be an old barn that appeared in the movie Days of Thunder. I could’ve spent more than hours here …

Hello, Gorgeous

Jeff Cooke — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:24:52 +0000

Say hello to Holly … you may remember her from our engagement session a few weeks back. She’s a happy, creative, knock-your-socks-off kind of girl. She wasn’t thrilled with her original wedding photos (and yes, I wish that I could’ve been her photographer) … so she dusted off her dress, grabbed a bouquet from the local grocery store, and we headed out for a fabulous bridal session. I had a feeling Holly could really rock out in her wedding dress … you can be the judge, but all i’m saying is whoa …